UFC slammed for ‘tone-deaf’ decision on Greg Hardy debut

Greg Hardy during his time with the Cowboys. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)Source:Getty Images

A UFC decision to have a former NFL star with a history of domestic violence issues make his debut on the same card as a female fighter who recently suffered an alleged assault by her husband has been slammed as “tone-deaf” and “idiotic”.

NFL pariah Greg Hardy will make his full UFC debut in January at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on a card featuring Rachael Ostovich’s women’s flyweight clash with Paige VanZant.

Hardy (3-0), a former defensive end with the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, will compete against Allen Crowder (9-3), UFC president Dana White told ESPN.

The announcement sparked a wave of reaction because Ostovich was hospitalised last month after an alleged altercation with her MMA fighter husband Arnold Berdon left her with a cracked orbital bone. Berdon was arrested and charged with assault.

Hardy, 30, was excommunicated from the NFL after details of an alleged 2014 assault on his ex-girlfriend became public.

Crowder, who suffered a first round knockout against Justin Willis in his most recent outing last year, is among those criticising the decision.

“I definitely want to win this fight for (Ostovich),” Crowder told Terez Owens. “I’m very against men beating women. And, I’m definitely not a woman, so he’s gonna have a lot harder time with me then he did the last person. I’m gonna get that win for her.”

“The UFC, they’re all about making that money, and I highly doubt whoever done this thought about her,” he added to MMA Junkie. “There is a chance they didn’t think about her, and that’s just totally wrong, especially after what she just went through.

“Really, it’s up to me to put a stop to what they’re trying to do and set a good example and show you’re not supposed to beat women, and give him a good lesson learned.”

Other fighters and leading MMA reporters condemned the call.

UFC’s ESPN debut is a little over a month away. They are scrambling for big fights. They don’t have a main event yet. They are trying to move things around. I get all that. This wasn’t the move, though, on multiple levels.

It's admirable of Rachael Ostovich to use her platform to encourage women not to be ashamed of domestic abuse and get to get the help they need to . It is tone deaf and insensitive of the UFC to debut Greg Hardy, a known and unapologetic abuser on the same card.

ESPN doesn't deserve a pass on this Hardy-Ostovich situation. UFC are the matchmakers and put together their own cards, fine, but even if the network didn't make their preferences known, now they can. They 'own' this event if it happens like this. If they care, time to speak up.

So, the UFC didn't just decide to give Greg Hardy, the giant bag of feces, a contract, but they put him on the same card as Rachel Ostovich, bravely fighting after she herself was a victim of domestic violence?

The card does not yet have a headliner and will be the first event to be broadcast on ESPN as part of the $1.5 billion rights package that was signed between the promotion and broadcaster in May.

Hardy’s MMA journey began two years ago. He trains at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, one of the most respected MMA gyms in the world.

The gym has housed many UFC champions including women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and former women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Hardy’s MMA career got off with a bang when he recorded a 57-second knockout of Austen Lane in his debut fight on “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series” back in June. After that fight, Hardy was signed to a development deal with the UFC.

Two months after that, Hardy once again showed off his power with a 17-second knockout over Tebaris Gordon that wowed White.

Hardy got another knockout in less than a minute on a card put on by a lesser promotion in September, but now he’s gotten a call to the big time.

White told ESPN that official fight contracts are yet to be signed, but he expects a deal to get done shortly.